Benign diagnosis by image-guided core-needle breast biopsy

Image-guided core-needle breast biopsy (IGCNBB) is widely used to evaluate patients with abnormal mammograms; however, information is limited regardin g the reliability of a benign diagnosis. The goal of this study was to demo nstrate that a benign diagnosis obtained by IGCNBB is accurate and amenable to mammographic surveillance, Records of all patients evaluated by IGCNBB from July 1993 through July :1996 were reviewed. Biopsies were classified a s malignant, atypical, or benign. All benign cases were followed by surveil lance mammography beginning 6 months after IGCNBB. Of the 1110 patients eva luated by IGCNBB during the study period, 855 revealed benign pathology. A total of 728 of the 855 patients (85%) complied with the recommendation for surveillance mammography. A total of 196 IGCNBBs were classified as malign ant; 59 cases were classified as atypical. The atypical cases were excluded from the statistical analysis. Only two patients have demonstrated carcino ma after a benign IGCNBB during the 2-year minimum follow-up period. The se nsitivity and specificity of a benign result were 100.0 and 98.9 per cent, respectively. A benign diagnosis obtained by IGCNBB is accurate and therefo re amenable to mammographic surveillance. The results of this study support IGCNBB as the preferred method of evaluating women with abnormal mammogram s.